


Bricks

by SEABlRD



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin
Genre: Fluff, Growing Up Together, Happy Father's Day!, Levi is a bit OoC, Little snippets from Levi's life, M/M, Modern AU, The title is really irrelevant to the story but it fit in my head lol, There's a lot of swearing sorry, but only toward the end ahh they're kids most of the fic, graphic designer!Levi, it gets a bit sad near the end but it ends on a good note, medical student!Eren
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-15
Updated: 2014-06-15
Packaged: 2018-02-04 17:54:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1787836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SEABlRD/pseuds/SEABlRD
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life goes on. Together, let's build a home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bricks

Whatever he was expecting, it wasn't this angry five year old yelling at him about disrespect and human rights. Hell, as a twelve year old, even Levi doesn't know all the words this little shit is spouting at him. All he'd done was kick over a small sandcastle in the playground sandbox. 

There's a little blond kid sitting beside the angry one, crying, and Levi assumes it was his sand pile that got kicked. The brunet keeps up his spiel, sounding more ridiculous than intimidating, and he is doing a fantastic job of giving prepubescent Levi a crippling migraine.

"Kid, if I get you and your buddy ice cream, will you shut the heck up?" The older boy grumbles, ignoring the urge to wipe his face with his hands. The change in mood is almost discombobulating. The blond one immediately stops crying and shoots his friend a teary-eyed glance. The angry kid hesitates before consenting, seeing the hopeful look in the blond's eyes. 

So that's how Levi ended up sitting on a park bench with two snotty brats, eating vanilla ice cream. The angry one, named Eren, as he's learned, devours a chocolate sundae as though he never ate in his life, while the crying one, Armin, drinks his strawberry milkshake with a little more finesse. After the initial conflict (and a begrudged apology from Levi) the three actually hit it off pretty well. Armin is quiet but witty, a combination of qualities that pleases Levi very much. Eren, however, is just naturally pissed off at everything until given a reason to be agreeable. 

Levi never thought he'd see the brats again, but he is (pleasantly) surprised to hear that they're going to be attending the same elementary school as him. Go figure, huh.

\---

So Eren's father is an accomplished lawyer. Levi can't really say he's surprised. Grisha Jaeger likes Levi for reasons the boy can't fathom. After all, he doesn't exactly have a prize-winning personality. It might be because Levi came to Eren and Armin's rescue, saving them from a playground bully. 

Fourteen years old, now, Levi learned a lot from Grisha and Eren, enough to know not to be an innocent bystander. As Eren once told him, you have to fight to win. As morbid as that sounds, it's true. And did Levi ever win; he's top of his class and edging toward brown belt in karate. He'd never admit it, but he takes it as a personal responsibility to protect Eren and Armin.

He thinks of them as the little brothers he'd never had, that's all. He takes a sip of his soda, listening to Eren go on about the new girl in his class. Mikasa, is that right? And she's a foster baby. Apparently, Grisha was thinking of bringing her into their family permanently. The folks she's with now aren't super. Oh well, one more brat to take care of.

Except she's fantastic at taking care of herself. Levi would be lying if he said we wasn't jealous of how much better she cared for Eren and Armin. Later this year, the paperwork is finally completed and Eren welcomes his new sister with open arms.

Over the summer, Levi and the boys build a treehouse. Naturally, Eren is inept with tools and Armin can't hit a nail to save his life, so Levi handles the bulk of the job. Once the treehouse is finished, the kids waste no time in claiming it as their own. Eren, Armin, and Mikasa spend so much time together that they become known as the 'wonder trio' of the neighbourhood. Levi doesn't hang out with them as much, anymore. He has his own friends to spend time with.

Hanji, Erwin, and Mike are all in his grade, so there is no way to avoid them when they claim him as one of their group. These guys are the odd ones out, exactly Levi's kind of people. Hanji is the weirdest one, though, hands down. Sometimes they're a girl, sometimes they're a boy. Sometimes they're both, and sometimes they're neither. They also have a horrible penchant for sweets and the functions of the human mind. Erwin has a leadership complex, and Mike smells people. A lot.

Levi also meets a girl named Petra. She's sweet, generous, and not terrible looking. They hang out over the school year, becoming good friends. Erwin and Hanji tease them endlessly, calling them the 'married couple' and urging them to just date already. Petra would flush in embarrassment, looking awfully cute when she's shy, while Levi would restrain himself from punching his friends in their faces.

He's not sure why he feels guilty when he gives Petra his first kiss, seated together wrapped in blankets in the treehouse he built for the kids. 

\---

College is coming to a close, Levi is twenty-one, he's had multiple fallouts with Petra and finally decided that they make better friends than lovers. Also, he's gay.

Apparently, this news came as no shock to Hanji, Erwin, or even Mike. Over the past few years, Levi's jumped from partner to partner, and has yet to find someone he could see himself settling down with. 

Eren, Armin, and Mikasa are fourteen, now, and each of them is coping with loss. Mama Carla Jaeger passed away last year after a long struggle against cancer. Levi misses her, too, and he stops by the Jaeger house every once in a while to spend time with Eren and Mikasa (who usually end up on his lap and shoulders, crying). 

Levi pretends to be indifferent when Eren announces that he's dating that cold blonde, Annie. He hates that he can't be around to protect Eren, not like he used to, anyway. There's an odd pit in his chest whenever the brunet talks about his girlfriend. She's not very talkative, perpetually annoyed, and has a pessimistic personality. Levi never knew that Eren would be the one to hang out with someone with such a bad attitude.

"She's like a girl version of you!" Hanji cackles. "Except blonde." Levi almost punches the freak right in their goddamn face for that comment. He gets that urge a lot. 

Mike has long since moved out of town with his high school sweetheart, Nanaba. They plan to open up their own veterinary clinic in the next town over. Levi gave them both dog plushies as a parting gift. Erwin never let's him love it down. 

Speaking of Erwin, that Dicklord McEyebrows is right on track to becoming the city's new favourite politician. He has the charm and the looks to draw people in, he's a natural. It's almost surprising to hear that originally, going into politics was the last thing on his mind. He acts humble and lovable, but Levi knows that, deep down, Erwin is a powerhouse of sly tricks and cards up his sleeve. People love him because he's good at playing his game. 

Levi has a part-time job at an unpopular, indie coffee shop in bum-fuck nowhere, downtown. It's a miracle the place gets customers at all. He does the cleaning, of course. Nobody could ever pay him enough to interact with people at all hours of the day. He enjoys watching them, though. Especially if they bring kids. Small kids, like babies, are annoying, but once they reach a certain age they have a spark of potential intelligence and they're not just mindless eating, sleeping, and shitting machines. He wouldn't mind having a kid, just so he could raise it to be the smartest fucking toddler in the neighbourhood. He can't tell Hanji that, though, or else he'd find himself the spontaneous father of at least fifty odd children, stolen from mothers all across town.

Levi gets into the habit of carrying around candies, small toys, and a first aid kit. Parents like him, despite his abrasive personality, and they don't mind it when Levi gives their kids sweets and trinkets. Whatever makes them happy.

\---

"You're sixteen." Levi deadpans, staring at Eren with the most unimpressed look he can muster. He ignores the fact that the boy practically got down on his knees and begged to go out on a date with him. 

"I'm old enough to go on a date with you, you coffin dodger." Eren argues. Levi never knew exactly when it was Eren and Annie broke up, but he can't exactly say he was displeased by that turnout. 

"I'm twenty-three, I'm not that old." Levi counters, knowing that there could only be one way this argument would end. Eren always got what he wanted, after all.

And that's how Levi ends up dating Eren. Definitely not what he'd planned, hell he didn't even know the kid was gay, but he supposes it's worth a shot. Besides, Eren already knows all of Levi's quirks, habits, and flaws, so he didn't exactly set himself up for disappointment. 

Once Eren finds out that Levi has a soft spot for kids, not including himself, he exploits it to the fullest. He drags Levi to the park every day to sit down on the bench and watch the children play. Sometimes, Eren goes and plays with them. Levi usually has to intervene on account of someone getting hurt. He pulls out his trusty first aid kit and patches up the booboos like a fucking pro. It's not surprising that Eren is the one getting hurt, most of the time.

Hanji landed themself an internship in a psychiatric hospital. It's oddly fitting. Every week, Levi meets up with them and they tell him about the freaks at the ward. It's almost endearing to hear Hanji talk so fondly about the psychos in their care. 

Mikasa and Armin end up dating. It's a strange pair, but they compliment each other surprisingly well. 

Levi graduates from college with his heart set on becoming a graphic designer. Eren supports him wholeheartedly, enthusiastically offering to buy the expensive drawing tablet Levi had been eyeing that month. The older male flat out refused to be a charity case and continued working at the coffee shop, slowly saving up the money to buy his own damn tablet. 

Christmas, and Levi's birthday, roll around and presents are handed out. The little shit bought him the tablet.

\---

In all twenty-seven years of his life, Levi has never seen Eren cry this hard. Ever. Not even when Carla passed away. 

The freelance graphic designer comes home, one evening, to find his boyfriend on the ground, whole body heaving with sobs. Levi wastes no time in rushing to Eren's side and scooping the brunet's head into his chest. Through unintelligible gibberish, the man can make out the words 'I can't have kids'. Levi almost decapitates Eren right on the spot. Of course he can't have kids, he's a man. Men do not bear children. As a medical student, Eren should know this by now. 

"Is that why you're crying?" Levi asks, incredulous. "Because you can't get knocked up?"

"You love kids so much"

Five words have never sounded so broken. Levi hugs Eren tightly, not needing any further explanation. He let's Eren cry into his shirt for the rest of the evening, carrying him to bed once the tears stop and making them pancakes to eat, snuggled together under the sheets.

\---

Six months since his thirty-second birthday has passed. Seven months since Levi's been hired to work with a small film company to design and animate characters for a kids movie. The story is pretty decent, with a good moral, unlike a lot of the garbage that's showed on TV, these days. 

It's the middle of June, and Levi would never have thought that animating would take so long. Admittedly, he's never worked on a video project that lasted longer than two minutes, let alone two hours. The people he works with aren't exactly splendid, either. 

He opens the door and is greeted by a myriad of balloons and confetti and is immediately confused. There's nothing special that's supposed to be celebrated today, right? Nobody's birthday is on this day, and there's no party planned. Hell, is there even a holiday? Levi can't be sure anymore. 

He pushes past a bouquet of animal balloons, setting his bag down on the counter, when a small folded paper catches his eye.

'To: Levi' it reads. 

Intrigued, and slightly irritated, the man picks up the paper and opens it. He is greeted by a (very rough) crayon drawing of two people standing beside a brick house. "Happy Father's Day!" Is written in the top corner in Eren's distinctive cursive. Levi's eyes widen comically and he drops the card on his way up the stairs.

Levi catches himself on the doorframe of the room he shares with his husband, looking and feeling disheveled. The younger man is sitting on the bed, grinning through the tears cascading down his cheeks, and clutching a thick white envelope tightly to his chest. An envelope from the adoption agency that he and Levi had fought for for four years.

Levi waits with baited breath, almost bouncing with excitement, choking out a small sob of joy. Eren swallows a laugh that threatens to bubble from his lips. 

"It's a girl."


End file.
